Grand/Upright playing differences?

[Prophetic]

I've never actually played a grand but my organ teacher said you can't play with your fingers (which I was taught to do) if you play a grand, you have to use your arms. Janice had said it's the same as an upright (which is which way, I'm not sure? ) so I was just wondering if anyone knew anymore on the topic

[etudes]

i'm not sure about this
btw i play both grand and upright
IMO sometime i even found that upright is more difficult to play and control than grand 
and the question that u cant play on the grand piano with only fingers (u cant play it on upright too) you have to use all muscle (look at your muscle from fingers forearm arm shoulder back leg feet) in playing (not really all but not only fingers)and very relax
good luck

[Derek]

My experience is that playing on a grand makes you a much better player really fast. I mostly play on my little Kawai at home, but whenever I get the opportunity I play on a Steinway B or a Baldwin 7' at the university. Every time I do so I gain more perspective and ability with touch and pedal.  Uprights are indeed harder....grands are more "forgiving" in a way because there's such a wider range of dynamics you don't have to have incredibly fine tuned finger movements.  The weight and balance of the action almost "carries" you.  I can't wait to own my own grand piano some day!!

[Prophetic]

All I have is an upright to practice on. I'm trying to muster up enough to ask the college if I can practice on their grand like once or twice every two weeks or soemthing. It would be awesome 

[Dazzer]

it doesn't really matter.

playing on a grand may let you think you're getting better, because the piano is better. but that's probably because its a grand (i used to play on a couple of grands in my old school, in halls). its a psychological thing.

i've heard a saying from some people though: "if you can make a crap piano sound good, you can make a great piano sound phenomenal". or something along those

personally, every piano has its own differences. I have played uprights which are plain dull, then too bright, insensitive touch, too sensitive touch. same goes for grands: too heavy, too light (which i personally like... hehe i'm a weakling) etc

[sznitzeln]

They have more sensitive action and respond better to your touch, its easier to make it sound like you want.
The dynamical range is larger, and the sound better.

[totallyclassics]

i am saving now for a grande....can someone tell me what most people spend on grande pianos?   i am  an intermediate student, but wish to advance...in looking, it looks as though the piano i want can't be had for under 37,000...but ofcourse, my budget won't allow for that....can i get a great grand for around 10-15 thousand

[abell88]

i am saving now for a grande....can someone tell me what most people spend on grande pianos?   i am  an intermediate student, but wish to advance...in looking, it looks as though the piano i want can't be had for under 37,000...but ofcourse, my budget won't allow for that....can i get a great grand for around 10-15 thousand

What currency are you talking about?

[popndekl]

What currency are you talking about?

LOL! 

[piano_world]

I say, u know, a Steinway B is about 50.000 €.
But If u want to ve a GOOD grand to practise, I would buy a Yamaha (about 1,70 meters) dunno the name of it.


But if u want a "Ferrari":
Ive played on a quite new piano.
Its called BORGATO, an italian piano. They produce only 3 pianos a year.
1 piece is about 270.000 €. :-)

[jamie0168]

I get to practice on nothing but grands in college and I adore them. I do believe that I've become alot better because of it. And it is a psychological thing. Personally, if my tone sounds great on the piano,  it makes me want to practice longer. If it sounds bad, it's pretty much suffering for me. But then again, I'm really sensitive to stuff like that. lol...I hear those commercials for "Kids Bop" or something where children are singing to Gavin Degraw. It makes me want to hide under my bed.

[jonjon]

My father always tell me "There's no crap piano for a good pianist."  Of course, I do NOT agree.  I remember being asked to play in an out-of-tune piano which sound about 1 1/2 steps LOWER - the middle C sounds A!  I refused as such will damage my hearing and dexterity.  I can tolerate technical damages of the keyboard itself but definitely not the order of TUNES which for me is the worst damage a piano could have.

BTW, is it true that dynamics can be better controlled in a grand than upright?  I've used upright since childhood but I like more the design of grand in that your face is freely seen. 

[MattL]

Im exempt I have a Jacob Doll Upright Grand

[jeremyjchilds]

A Grand piano has a more substantial action feel, heavier usually (Although large "upright grands" can have a more substantial feel than cheap Baby grands) Of course, upright grand as a title refers only to the size of the piano.

Grand pianos have gravity assisted repitition, so one could play faster, Scales in thirds are probably the most obvious example.

A grand piano does not sound better than an upright piano unless it is a better piano. (of course the lid would have to be open on the upright for a fair comparison)

THe biggest difference is the action, and the fact that few uprights have a susteneuto pedal.

[MattL]

upright grands, or uprights period, tend to have a very weak action and the only way to achive a strong fortissimo is to use the sustaining pedal, grands tend to have a heavier action and a weaker pianissimo than a good upright

[infamousbr]

1) when u play a grand, psychologically u'll feel like you're a better piano player than when you're playing on an upright.
2) i think there are some things u can't do on an upright that u can do on a grand, like voicing and such, etc.

but i dont know, once i switched to a steinway grand, my appreciation for the piano seriously went up thru the roof, so a grand is def. worth it if you're serious about piano

[dikai_yang]

well, I'm spoiled in a way that I only practice on the school's Steinway...
but I grew up with a Yamaha upright...
When you say a grand piano is better, I would say only a good grand piano is better
for steinways, you need a very very old (50 years or more) before it becomes so great
---
the biggest difference is the key...
upright piano uses hollow keys so they're very light
grand piano uses solid wooden keys
and you can see that for everykey there's a hole drilled to put in a piece of circular metal that makes it even heavier...
the greatest thing is that when it's heavy it's a lot easier to control...
---
the bad thing about an upright is, as soon as you touch a key, a sound is made
grand piano, you need to pass a "threshold"
if you feel it you'll understand...
---
but generally if you have a yamaha, you'll never go wrong
every yamaha feels the same... so it's "safe"
all steinways are made to be good, but not all are easy to play on
brand new steinways for examples, the pedals are usually so stiff that it's hard to do rapid pedal change (for instance in scale passages where you change the pedal almost as fast as a trill)
i play on 100 year-old steinways (2 of them),
experience is... whatever you dream of, it happens on it...

[Waldszenen]

but generally if you have a yamaha, you'll never go wrong
every yamaha feels the same... so it's "safe"
all steinways are made to be good, but not all are easy to play on
brand new steinways for examples, the pedals are usually so stiff that it's hard to do rapid pedal change (for instance in scale passages where you change the pedal almost as fast as a trill)
i play on 100 year-old steinways (2 of them),
experience is... whatever you dream of, it happens on it...

hah, I've found that Yamahas are the most inconsistent of all pianos in terms of action feel.